Review of the Influence of L1 in L2 Acquisition
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CSCanada.net: E-Journals (Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture,... ISSN 1923-1555[Print] Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online] Vol. 9, No. 2, 2014, pp. 57-60 www.cscanada.net DOI: 10.3968/5721 www.cscanada.org Review of the Influence of L1 in L2 Acquisition WANG Zhanming[a],* [a]Southwest University, Chongqing, China. progress of universal grammar. And in the fifth part, also *Corresponding author. a very important part, the interlanguage theory will be Received 11 July 2014; accepted 30 September 2014 introduced. At last is the list of references. Published online 26 October 2014 1. L1 AND L2 ACQUISITION Abstract L1 has a significant influence on second language study. 1.1 Definition However, how L1 influence L2 is very complicated What is L1 acquisition? The L1 acquisition, according and abstract. But to study the mechanism of how L1 to Susan Gass and Larry Selinker, is the process a child influence L2 is significant because L2 acquisition is learns his or her first language. While SLA refers to the making contribution on many fields like education and process of learning another language after the native psychology. L1 is one of the central elements influencing language has been learned. (Gass & Selinker, 2008) It is SLA. In this course paper, we are going to overview what not just the second language one learns, even the process linguists have done about L1 and L2 and what approaches of third, fourth, and fifth language one learns, are all and theories they have made. called SLA. Second language acquisition is different form Key words: L1 transfer; Second language acquisition; foreign language learning. The latter refers to the process Universal grammar one learns a nonnative language in the place of his or her native environment. For example, a Chinese person learns Wang, Z. M. (2014). Review of the Influence of L1 in L2 English in China. While, second language acquisition, on Acquisition. Studies in Literature and Language, 9(2), 57-60. Available the other hand, refers to learning one learns a nonnative from: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/view/5721 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/5721 language in that nonnative environment. For example, that Chinese person we mentioned just now, learns English in the USA. The point of both the L1 and L2 acquisition, is the word acquisition. People acquire the first or second INTRODUCTION language, not just learn them consciously. The process of second language acquisition, or L2, 1.2 Process of L1 Acquisition has been influenced by so many factors, and the first The significance of studying the process of L1 acquisition language, or L1, maybe the one of the greatest factors. So is great. Because much SLA research parallels L1 many linguists have researched the relationship between acquisition especially in the 1960s and 1970s. To study L1 and L2 acquisition, and they also have proposed many one acquire his or her first language is to study a child’s reconcilable and irreconcilable opinions. On the basis, this behavior. Language is a form of communication, but paper mainly focuses on some factors of the influence of children communicate long before they have language— L1 in L2 acquisition. In the first part, the definition of L1 at least in the way we normally think of language. Anyone and L2 acquisition will be given. In the second part, the who has lived in a household with an infant is aware of L1 transfer will be mainly discussed. While in the third the various means that infants have at their disposal to part, we can see the role of L1 from the historical and communicate their needs. The most efficient of these is modern view. Then move to the fourth part, which is the crying, but there are other more pleasant means as well. 57 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture Review of the Influence of L1 in L2 Acquisition Some of these include smiling and cooing. Coos are not 2.2 Sounds Transfer precisely like the regular speech sounds of language, but The most enduring and prominent phenomenon in L1 they do suggest that infants are aware of sounds and their transfer is sounds transfer. In the SLA, it is widely found potential significance. For example, from approximately that L2 learners’ pronunciation is deeply influenced four to seven months, infants use these cooing sounds to by their L1 and deviate the pronunciation of the native play with such language-related phenomena as loudness speakers. So the function of L1 transfer plays a very and pitch (Foster-Cohen, 1999). The most widely important role in SLA of sounds. accepted process of L1 has those elements. They are bablling, words, sounds and pronunciation, syntax, and 2.3 Words Transfer morphology. Some linguists found that if there are many similarities In this chapter, we have discussed what is L1 and of words between L1 and L2, learners feel easier to L2, the difference between SLA and foreign language learn the target language and vice versa. This is why learning, and the process of L1 acquisition. The last part, French students feel easier than Chinese students when L1 acquisition, has strongly influenced the whole study both of them are studying English. For the reason that in of SLA. Because linguists cannot just study the process English, there are many words borrowed from French. of L2 acquisition alone without any reference system. When French students come across those words, they feel The study of L1 acquisition is a very good reference no difficulties remembering them. While Chinese and system for the study of SLA. Linguists have made many English belong to different language systems. There are conclusions through comparing L1 and L2 acquisition. few similar words between the two languages. So Chinese However, SLA is not just the same with L1 acquisition. students feel more difficult to learn English than French It has its own feathers and when a person acquires L2, he students do. or she will be influenced by his or her L1. We will further 2.4 Syntax Transfer discuss the influence in the following chapters. The syntax transfer contains syntax structure, such as word order, negative sentence, interrogative and relative clause 2. TRANSFER and so on. The positive and negative transfer are existent at the same time. According to behaviorism theories, 2.1 Definition when the sentence pattern of L1 and L2 is different, the The word transfer was first being used a century ago. mistake will come into being. According to contrastive Whitney first used this word in linguistics to describe analysis hypothesis, when L1 is different from L2, L1 will the influence of cross-language. However, till 1950s and interference the SLA. In other words, all the L1 transfer in 1960s, this word became popular in linguistics. In 1986, SLA is negative transfer. When the mode is the same of L1 Sajavaara proposed that in psychology, transfer is a kind and L2, the positive transfer comes into being. of influence from old knowledge to new knowledge. 2.5 Culture Transfer That is to say, when a person studies new knowledge, Culture transfer is a kind of influence made by the his old knowledge will influence the process of his new difference between L1 and L2. L2 learners tern to express knowledge learning, and the whole influence is called themselves in their own habit from their culture. transfer. Fries and Lado later, introduce the word transfer In this chapter, we discuss the L1 transfer in SLA. It is to the study of SLA. Corder (1973) claimed that SLA obvious that L1 transfer exists in all the language structure is the accumulation of action. Everyone can master a level. And we have analyzed the transfer from the aspect language if he or she wants to. So the mistakes made in of sounds, words, syntax and culture. We found that L1 SLA are explained as a kind of interference of L1 when plays a very complicated role in SLA. Zobl asserted that the learners are learning the target language. And this kind there is a projection phenomenon is language acquisition. of interference is called negative transfer. The similarities Ringborn (1987) made the point that the level of L2 is between L1 and L2 are thought to help the SLA. So that is a key factor of transfer degree. And Odlin (1989) put positive transfer. In other words, the distinctions between forward that just as the using of cognate words, positive L1 and L2 cause difficulties and mistakes in SLA, while transfer happens on the basis of highly proficiency. Too the similarities promote it. However, Chomsky (1959), many linguists proposed too many opinions. This area is Selinker (1972) and Ellis (1985) emphasized the inner waiting for more linguist to study. elements of human’s brain and they contended that there is something in mind which can help the language acquisition. Now, it is commonly believe that it is biased 3. ROLE OF L1 FROM THE HISTORICAL to conclude that the habit of using L1 can influence SLA. Here we divided L2 transfer into four levels: sounds AND MODERN VIEW transfer, words transfer, syntax transfer and culture In the second page of Lado’s book, Linguistics Across transfer. Cultures, he stated that individuals tend to transfer the Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 58 WANG Zhanming (2014). Studies in Literature and Language, 9(2), 57-60 forms and meanings, and the distribution of forms and learners to figure out the difference.